Match Preview: Tottenham Hotspur Women v. Chelsea FC Women

Tottenham Hotspur Women take on Chelsea Women at Kingsmeadow in a high stakes match–a Chelsea win will send them into first place ahead of Arsenal, while underdogs Tottenham need all three points to stay in the conversation for European spots. You can watch the game for free on the FA Player TODAY, Wednesday, May 23 at 7:45 UK, 3:45 pm ET.

Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

It’s going to be a tough one. Chelsea are one of the best teams in the league, with a terrifying attack and the rock solid defense to back it up. They’re coming off a string of invigorating wins–the 1-0 against Aston Villa that saw Sam Kerr mark her last minute winner with an iconic celebration, a solid victory over Everton, and a 5-0 thrashing of Birmingham City in the FA Cup. They have plenty of momentum to build on, and they’ll be full of passion as they battle Arsenal for the FAWSL title.

Spurs and Chelsea last met in May of 2021, a game which Chelsea handily won 2-0. Spurs have upgraded some players since, and though we’re still underdogs, Chelsea shouldn’t expect an easy game. Watch for Ashleigh Neville and Rachel Williams (if she’s fit) causing trouble in attack, and January signing Eveliina Summanen contributing all over the pitch. Spurs’ typically well-organized defense will face one of the most difficult tests of the season in Sam Kerr, Pernille Harder, and Guro Reiten not to mention the rest of Chelsea’s star-studded roster.

“Abbie,” you might be thinking, “can’t you give me just a little bit of hope to hang my hat on?”

I’ll try!

Chelsea are probably going to be tired. They’ve played a game nearly every three days for all of March. They have the squad depth, but they’ve shown some vulnerabilities in their rotation, and Spurs have had ten days to prepare to Chelsea’s three. Spurs also have a strong defense–we’re third overall in goals against (GA) and fourth in expected goals against (xGA). Toss some lucky bounces into our fighting performance against Manchester City and you never know, we could get something out of this match.

If we can keep calm, stay organized, and take our chances, it might be a very close game. If we can’t, well, I hope we don’t have to find out because Chelsea have a lot of firepower and it could be a blowout.